Thursday, March 31, 2011

As a way to help out the people of Japan suffering from the devastating earthquake and tsunami, 19 year old Ryo Ishikawa has decided to donate all of his 2011 tournament prize money plus a bonus per birdie made to the victims.

Ishikawa is a golf phenom who has won nine times on the Japan Tour, shot a 58 in a pro round, won his first pro tournament as a 15 year old amateur, and won his first money title as a 17 year old. Last year he was third on Japan's money list with 1.82 million. This is an amazing act by a young person and has gained a lot of attention around the golf world.

"I don’t view this as pressure to perform, but it will instead be extra motivation for me,” Ishikawa said Friday in an email to The Associated Press. “I always believe in myself, but because I am playing for the people of Japan, I feel like I will be playing with a greater purpose this year.”

“I feel fortunate to be in a position to afford such things, but I know that my success is a result of the support of so many people,” he said in the email. “While golf is my profession, and I want to have a long and successful career, there are things that are more important. And the people of Japan are dealing with life and death issues as a result of the earthquake and tsunami. I feel it is my turn to give back in whatever way I can to support the people who have been so supportive of me.”

It would be great to see Ishikawa get a few wins this year. Maybe he can get one at the Masters.

When Tom Watson’s final round approach shot to the 18th at Turnberry during the 2009 British Open rolled past the hole, over the green and down the slope, I fell to my living room floor because I couldn’t stand it. I was really pulling for him to win because to do so at the age of 59 would have been possibly the greatest win in golf history. It didn’t quite happen but it was still a remarkable story.

In his new book, The Timeless Swing, Tom Watson has compiled the insights, secrets, and fundamentals he has learned and used throughout his legendary golf career. Over the past 40 years, Watson has a total of eight major championships, 68 professional wins, and of course nearly won that British in 2009.

I usually think golf instruction books are pretty boring but this one is different. The book is designed to help both beginners as well as more advanced players. He covers the basics such as grip, posture, alignment, and ball position and then steadily moves on to topics such as hitting low hooks or high fades, hitting if farther, and swinging in the wind.

The book is filled with excellent photographs of Watson demonstrating every fundamental and shot that is discussed. Watson also includes many drills that golfers of all skill levels can use to improve. All in all, the book provides clear, concise, easy to read golf instruction that covers a majority of the knowledge Watson has learned throughout his career.

It’s quite evident that Tom Watson has a timeless, consistent, efficient swing with smooth tempo that he’s used to be successful for 40 years. What better way to learn than from one of the game’s all time champions?

There are (5) 1st prizes and (5) 2nd prizes. 1st place receives a signed copy of The Timeless Swing and a signed copy of Lessons of a Lifetime DVD. 2nd place receives a signed copy of The Timeless Swing and a signed Adams golf hat.

Simon & Schuster gave me this book to read and review in connection with its Sweepstakes.

This video shows the 21 year old skinny Tiger destroying the golf course, hitting wedges into par-5s, playing with incredible touch and feel, and just basically hitting ridiculous shots from every angle. After he shot 40 on his opening round Thursday, he played the rest of the way 22 under par to win his first major.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Martin Laird shot a final round 75 to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational for his second career PGA Tour win. On a windy day with difficult pin positions, he was able to win by one shot over Steve Marino by two-putting from 85 feet at the 18th.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The following is an article by Travis Fulton, Director of Instruction at PGA Tour Academies.

One of the things that will happen at the beginning of every year for a lot of professional golfers is this: They sit down with their coach and look at last year's stats. At that time, the coach and player go through a full evaluation of the player's game, identifying strengths and weaknesses. At the end of the 2009 season, when he was coming off shoulder surgery, Gary Woodland and his coach, Randy Smith, sat down and outlined a game plan for improvement.

Improvement is what we all want as golfers, as I have never met a student at our multiple TOUR Academies across the country that didn't want to improve. But improvement can be difficult for many reasons, as there are certain barriers we all have to overcome in our day-to-day lives. However, improvement can be had by all if we are willing to do the things necessary.

One of the first steps to improvement is to take a page from Gary Woodland and evaluate your game. Some of you may have an instructor you currently work with, but statistics tell us that most of you don't. With the golf season now right around the corner, I encourage all of you to go back over last year's rounds and write down what you feel were your strengths and weaknesses. Next, take this data and find an instructor that can help you with a plan to get more out of your game. This doesn't mean you have to take one lesson every week or two. Simply narrow your thoughts on what it is you are trying to do to improve your game.

The quickest way to improve is to address your weaknesses. For Gary, this year one of the main areas of focus with Randy Smith was improving his short game -- in particular, putting. Over the years, Gary has been one of the longest hitters on the PGA TOUR. This year, he is currently ranked eighth on the PGA TOUR in Driving Distance at 299.5 yards. However, Gary hasn't always been able to capitalize on his length by making enough putts.

In 2009, Woodland was ranked 174th in Putting Average and 178th in Putts per Round. In 2010, 2010 he was ranked 119th and 121st respectively. So far in 2011, Woodland has jumped to 11th in Putting Average and 92nd in Putts per Round. Big improvement with the flatstick was never m ore important than in last week's game plan on the difficult Copperhead Course in the Transitions Championship.
What's important to take away here is not only the importance of an honest evaluation on one's golf game, but also a clear game plan that is agreed upon by the instructor and student that has both parties moving in the same direction. This agreement is critical, as results can sometimes take some time; for example, Woodland is finally now starting to see these results some 18 months later.

So my question to you is: What are your strengths and weaknesses? For some of you, it might be ball-striking, whether it's not enough distance off the tee, not hitting enough fairways and greens or maybe it's both where you are just very inconsistent with all clubs. Others it might be short game, not getting up-and-down enough, three-putts, bad bunker play, etc. Whatever it is, I encourage you to identify these areas at the very least and hopefully begin to work on plan that will help you turn your weaknesses into strengths -- just like Gary Woodland has done in 2011.

Monday, March 21, 2011

The Arnold Palmer Invitational kicks off this Thursday at Bay Hill with not only an important tournament on the line, but a chance for the players to hone their games for the upcoming Masters. The tournament often comes down to the 18th hole (pictured above), a difficult par-4 with water down the entire right side from tee to green.

This tournament has been in existence since 1966 with only five players having won multiple times. Those with two wins include Jerry Heard, Gary Koch, Loren Roberts, Ernie Els, as well as Tiger Woods, who has won six times.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Nick Watney poured in a birdie at the 18th at the WGC Cadillac Championship to win by two over Dustin Johnson. He shot a final round 67 to earn his third career victory on the PGA Tour and moved into 2nd place overall in the Fed Ex Standings.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Sean Foley spoke about Tiger Woods in this interview about all the criticism surrounding Wood's swing change and game. I really enjoy the stat he brought up about know-it-all Brandel Chamblee.

Here are some of the interesting quotes:

“The crap that these guys are writing – golfchannel.com and all these different avenues of pure judgment on Tiger."

“When did (Golf Channel analyst) Brandel Chamblee and (NBC’s) Johnny Miller and guys like that forget how hard golf is when you have conflict and you don’t have clarity?"

“Brandel Chamblee made 180 out of 398 cuts on the PGA Tour (in his playing days). Like, when did this become so easy for him? That’s like 43 per cent. You’re talking about a guy (Woods) who’s missed six cuts in his life. It’s just sensational. That’s what they do.”

“New days. New times. You’re absolutely probably an invalid if you don’t think what he went through hasn’t affected his belief system.”

The WGC Cadillac Championship begins Thursday at Doral with all the world's top players in attendance. The top 21 players will be paired together in threesomes according to world rank. The top two groups will be Kaymer, Westwood, and Donald followed by McDowell, Woods, and Mickelson and so on.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

In Sport Psychologist Bob Rotella's book Putting Out Of Your Mind, he discusses techniques he teaches pros to help them get the best out of their putting.

Here are 10 of his top rules:

1) The putting game is the place to look if you want to get a competitive advantage.
2) In putting, the inability to forget is infinitely more devastating than the inability to remember. There is nothing worse for your putting than dwelling on putts you've missed.
3) Never putt to a three foot circle. If you aren't trying to hole every putt you have, you are going to lose to someone who is.
4) Good players handle pressure putts by developing a strong routine and relying on it in the clutch.
5) Good putters learn to welcome nervous symptoms rather than fear them.
6) Every putt is a green-light putt.
7) The yips originate in the mind. Their prevention and cure are mental challenges.
8) Pick a putting style that feels good to you and stick with it.
9) There is no such thing as perfect putting mechanics.
10) The principles of good putting will work for as long as your commitment to them stands.

A few drills he suggests:

1) Pick a straight putt on the practice green. Place a tee at three feet, five feet, and seven feet. Make three balls in a row at each distance until you make all nine. If you miss one, start over.
2) Choose a five foot putt with a decent amount of break. Using three balls, hit each one at a different speed to get a feel for the break. Hit one firm, one medium, and one slow.

* If you tend to miss a lot of four footers on the practice green, the problem is mechanics. If you make most of your four footers on the practice green but miss them on the course, the problem is mental.*

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Honda Classic begins Thursday at PGA National Champion Course in Florida which was designed by Jack Nicklaus and features the "Bear Trap", consisting of holes 15-17. Camillo Villegas comes in as the defending champion and Luke Donald is coming off his big win last week at the Accenture Match Play.